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Editors' Picks

The Story Behind Banksy

On his way to becoming an international icon, the subversive and secretive street artist turned the art world upside-down

Origami: A Blend of Sculpture and Mathematics

Artist and MIT professor Erik Demaine makes flat geometric diagrams spring into elegant, three-dimensional origami sculptures

An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Creation Myths

Each culture has its own version of how the universe began. Artist Noah MacMillan brings this “visual vocabulary” to life

Arts & Culture Beats

Unmanned Drones Have Been Around Since World War I

They have recently been the subject of a lot of scrutiny, but the American military first began developing similar aerial vehicles during World War I
February 12, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

Page 1 of 182

The Masked Merriment of Mardi Gras

For centuries, the day's revelry has featured the liberated feeling of hiding in plain view
February 12, 2013 | By Emily Spivack

Imagining a Drone-Proof City in the Age of Surveillance

As drones become common as tools of the military and intelligence agencies, how are architects and designers responding?
February 08, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

The Unsettling Beauty of Lethal Viruses

British artist Luke Jerram's handblown glass sculptures show the visual complexity and delicacy of E. coli, swine flu, malaria and other killing agents
February 07, 2013 | By Claire Tinsley

The History of the Flapper, Part 2: Makeup Makes a Bold Entrance

It's the birth of the modern cosmetics business as young women look for beauty enhancers in a tube or jar
February 07, 2013 | By Emily Spivack

The Privacy Wars: Goggles That Block Facial Recognition Technology

For designers, the battle over what it means to be private in a very public world is a new frontier to be conquered
February 06, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

The Year’s Most Outstanding Science Visualizations

A juried competition honors photographs, illustrations, videos, posters, games and apps that marry art and science in an evocative way
February 05, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

The History of the Flapper, Part 1: A Call for Freedom

The young, fashionable women of the 1920s define the dress and style of their peers in their own words
February 05, 2013 | By Emily Spivack

Honey, I Blew Up the Bugs

Italian artist Lorenzo Possenti created 16 enormous sculptures of giant insects, all scientifically accurate, now on display at an Oklahoma museum
February 04, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

Are Punch and Judy Shows Finally Outdated?

For a wife-beating, baby-squashing scofflaw, Mr. Punch has done pretty well for himself
February 04, 2013 | By Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Smithsonian

All about Valentine's Day

The History of Sweethearts, How Data is Changing How we Date, the Top Demonstrations of Love and More on Valentine's Day

Drone Couture: Designing Invisibility

While scientists work toward perfecting the invisibility cloak, one designer has already developed a line of clothing that makes people invisible...to robots
February 01, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

Louis Armstrong’s New Orleans

Jazz is synonymous with the Big Easy, and there’s no bigger name in the history of the genre than Satchmo
January 31, 2013 | By Nina Fedrizzi

Beatboxing, as Seen Through Scientific Images

To see exactly how certain sound effects are humanly possible, a team of University of Southern California researchers took MRI scans of a beatboxer in action
January 30, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

The History, Science and Culture of the Super Bowl

Catch up on everything you wanted to know about the Big Game -- What's its history? What makes a good advertisement? -- and much more

Jane Austen’s English Countryside

Follow in the footsteps of Mr. Darcy and the Bennet sisters and take in the manors and gardens of rural England
January 25, 2013 | By Nina Fedrizzi

American Myths: Benjamin Franklin’s Turkey and the Presidential Seal

How the New Yorker and the West Wing botched the history of the icon
January 25, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

Mona Lisa Travels by Laser, to Space And Back Again

To test the reaches of laser communication, NASA beamed a digital image of Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait to a satellite orbiting the moon
January 25, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

The Story Behind Banksy

On his way to becoming an international icon, the subversive and secretive street artist turned the art world upside-down
February 2013 | By Will Ellsworth-Jones

Who Designed the Seal of the President of the United States?

We see it on the President's lectern and in the Oval Office, but who came up with the look and feel of it in the first place?
January 23, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

"Evolution of the Host"—A New Poem by Robert Pinsky

February 2013 | By Robert Pinsky

An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Creation Myths

Each culture has its own version of how the universe began. Artist Noah MacMillan brings this “visual vocabulary” to life
February 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

Origami: A Blend of Sculpture and Mathematics

Artist and MIT professor Erik Demaine makes flat geometric diagrams spring into elegant, three-dimensional origami sculptures
January 23, 2013 | By Marina Koren

Polaroid Portraits: Capturing President Obama's Second Inauguration

We sent photojournalist Tamir Kalifa to the inauguration to ask attendees why they came to the National Mall
January 23, 2013 | By Tamir Kalifa

Listen to Doc Watson Picking Away at his Banjo

A new release from Smithsonian Folkways highlights the talent of a bluegrass master
February 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next »

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